fedafin AG

What fedafin AG does

fedafin AG is the only FINMA-recognized Swiss credit rating agency, founded in 2002 and headquartered in Widnau, Switzerland. The firm provides independent issuer ratings (Emittentenrating), issue/bond ratings (Emissionsrating), and project ratings (Projektrating) for Swiss public-sector entities, financial institutions, and corporates, employing proprietary quantitative models based on asymmetrically extended logit functions. Its rating universe covers all 26 Swiss cantons, all Swiss municipalities, and approximately 350 companies, with continuous monitoring delivered via the e-Rating online portal and a Web API for programmatic access. The company is FINMA-recognized for all regulatory purposes, IOSCO-compliant, SNB repo-eligible, and the rating provider for the SIX Swiss Exchange SBI® Composite Rating.

The firm operates a subscription- and mandate-based revenue model with fee-bearing desktop ratings (internal, no monitoring) and full ratings including ongoing surveillance for capital market and credit market use. Approximately 200 institutional clients — pension funds, insurance groups, cantonal/regional/private banks, and bond-listed corporations — subscribe to the rating universe. The product portfolio has expanded beyond core credit ratings to include ESG ratings (since 2020), Green/Social/Sustainability Bond assessments, a municipal financial-comparison portal (Gemeindeportal, launched 2026), and the cosmofunding joint platform with Zürcher Kantonalbank for private placements and loans.

fedafin is privately held by five long-term shareholders, employs 11-50 people, and operates exclusively within the Swiss market. The leadership team includes Managing Director Dr. Adrian Oberlin, Compliance Officer / Deputy Managing Director Christoph Domeisen, six department heads covering public-sector, municipal, financial, insurance, and private-sector ratings, and a Board of Directors chaired by Dr. Tobias Guldimann with academic members including Prof. Dr. Damir Filipovic and Prof. Dr. Markus Leippold.

Name

fedafin AG

Legal name

fedafin AG

Website

https://fedafin.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

fedafin AG is the only FINMA-recognized Swiss credit rating agency, providing independent issuer, issue, and project credit ratings for all Swiss cantons, municipalities, and approximately 350 companies, serving around 200 institutional clients including pension funds, insurance groups, and banks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Credit Rating Services

NAICS

Credit Bureaus (56145), Credit Bureaus (561450)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Alternative / Non-Traditional Credit Data Providers (FSAKAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Credit Repair & Credit Score Advisory (FSAEAFAD)

Keywords

• Credit rating services
• Issuer credit ratings
• Bond issue ratings
• ESG ratings
• Swiss credit rating agency

Headquarters

HQ city

Widnau

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Issuer Credit Ratings: Fees for credit rating assignments including Issuer Ratings (Emittentenrating) for cantons, municipalities, and companies. Desktop ratings available without monitoring for internal purposes. Full ratings with monitoring for capital market financing purposes.
2. Issue Credit Ratings (Emissionsrating): Bond and issue ratings for companies listed on SIX Swiss Exchange and medium-sized Swiss companies accessing capital markets through bonds or private placements.
3. Project Ratings (Projektrating): Ratings for project financing, primarily in renewable energy sector (wind, water, sun, geothermal) and public-private partnerships.
4. ESG Ratings: Subscription-based ESG ratings per issuer as complement to credit ratings, covering Environment, Social, and Governance dimensions.
5. e-Rating Portal Access: Subscription access to rating universe with continuous monitoring, with options for exclusive contract client access or public access.
6. Municipal Portal Subscription: Subscription access to municipal financial database with comparison features and debt simulation tools for Swiss municipalities.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

fedafin AG provides independent credit rating services for Swiss issuers including cantons, municipalities, and companies, covering all 26 Swiss cantons and all Swiss municipalities with continuous monitoring. Core offerings include issuer ratings, issue/bond ratings, and project ratings primarily for renewable energy and public-private partnerships, complemented by ESG ratings and Green/Social/Sustainability Bond assessments delivered through the e-Rating online portal.

Product overview

Fedafin AG operates as a Swiss credit rating agency offering issuer ratings, issue ratings, and project ratings through its e-Rating online portal. The core product portfolio centers on credit assessments for Swiss cantons, municipalities, and approximately 350 companies, with corresponding bond ratings. Supporting modules include ESG ratings (covering Environmental, Social, Governance, and biodiversity factors), Green/Social/Sustainability Bond assessments, and the cosmofunding platform for private placements. Additional offerings comprise a municipal portal with financial benchmarking tools and a Web API for programmatic data access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Emittentenrating (Issuer Rating) Credit assessments of issuers including Swiss cantons, municipalities, and companies, providing independent evaluations of creditworthiness for institutional investors. Includes desktop ratings (without monitoring for internal use) and full ratings with monitoring for capital market or credit market financing purposes.
• Emissionsrating (Issue Rating) Bond and securities ratings for issuers listed on SIX Swiss Exchange and medium-sized Swiss companies accessing capital markets through bonds or private placements, enabling portfolio selection and diversification based on independent risk assessment.
• Projektrating (Project Rating) Credit assessments for project financing, particularly in renewable energies (wind, water, sun, geothermal) and public-private partnerships, based on anchor ratings of project participants, primarily for investors.
• ESG Ratings Environmental, Social, and Governance ratings as a complement to credit ratings, covering E/S/G factors plus greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity under Environment.
• Green, Social, and Sustainability Bonds Ratings Credit assessments for Green, Social, and Sustainability Bonds following ICMA principles, covering issuers across various sectors, provided as part of fedafin's bond rating coverage.
• e-Rating Online Portal Online platform for publishing and accessing credit rating reports, accessible to contract clients or the general public. Includes rating universe with public and non-public ratings, available via subscription.
• Gemeindeportal (Municipal Portal) Subscription-based database portal providing Swiss municipalities with financial data, comparisons to peer municipalities (by district, canton, size), historical development of financial indicators, and customized debt simulation tools.
• Web API Technical interface enabling external systems to access fedafin's rating data programmatically, with downloadable documentation for developers.
• cosmofunding Platform Digital platform operated jointly with Zürcher Kantonalbank for standardized processing of private placements and loans.

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 200 institutional investors and capital seekers as clients including leading pension funds, insurance groups, and banks.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers24 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• cosmofunding (Zürcher Kantonalbank)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerDigital platform of Zürcher Kantonalbank for standardized processing of private placements and loans. cosmofunding launched in 2018.
• SIX Financial InformationcoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides reference data for securities, price data, corporate actions, tax data, regulatory information, indices, and benchmarks used in rating processes.
• PRI AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSignatory since August 2018 to PRI Statement on ESG in Credit Risk and Ratings, sharing common vision of improving systematic and transparent consideration of ESG factors in creditworthiness assessments.
• FHS St.Gallen (Kompetenzzentrum für Banking und Finance)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Innosuisse project 'Independent Evaluation Framework for Security Tokens'.
• EACRA (European Association of Credit Rating Agencies)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Association of Credit Rating Agencies - membership provides industry representation and standard-setting participation.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• DBRS Morningstar: A globally active mid-sized rating agency (acquired by Morningstar) with ESMA registration, active across corporate, financial institution, and structured finance ratings in Europe. Competes with fedafin for European mid-market and structured finance mandates.
• S&P Global Ratings: Another of the Big 3 globally dominant rating agencies, providing credit ratings on Swiss sovereign, bank, and corporate issuers and serving as an indirect competitor for cross-border issuance mandates involving Swiss entities.
• Moody's Ratings: One of the globally dominant Big 3 credit rating agencies. Moody's rates Swiss large-cap issuers, banks, and insurers, providing the global benchmark against which fedafin's ratings are positioned.
• Fitch Ratings: The third globally dominant rating agency, with established coverage of Swiss banks, insurers, and large corporates. Operates as the third alternative benchmark for Swiss issuers.

Emerging players

• Modefinance: Italy-headquartered ESMA-registered rating agency with a strong ESG and sustainability orientation, rating SMEs and issuers. Comparable to fedafin's ESG-credit integrated approach and its focus on smaller European issuers.

Regional players

• HR Ratings: Mexico-headquartered credit rating agency focused on Latin American sovereign, sub-sovereign, and corporate issuers. Comparable as a non-Big 3, locally anchored rating agency with strong public-sector franchise in its home market.

Direct peers

• CRIF Ratings: Italy-based ESMA-registered credit rating agency focused on European SMEs and mid-market corporates, similar in positioning to fedafin as a specialist covering entities underserved by Big 3 incumbents.
• Egan-Jones Ratings: US-based NRSRO-rated credit rating agency with a long-standing mid-market and niche issuer focus. Comparable to fedafin as an independent, non-Big 3 agency serving issuers outside the largest global corporates.
• Scope Ratings (Scope Group): Germany-based European credit rating agency focused on mid-market corporates, banks, and public-sector entities, with ESMA registration. Like fedafin, Scope serves issuers that the Big 3 do not consistently cover and competes head-on for European mid-cap and structured finance mandates.

Others

• Euler Hermes Rating (Allianz Trade): BAFIN-registered German rating agency within Allianz Trade focused on corporate credit assessments in continental Europe, particularly SMEs. Comparable as a European non-Big 3 rated entity; adjacent rather than directly competing on municipal/sovereign ratings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fedafin-ag

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about fedafin AG